On April 11, 2002, an undemocratic coup in Venezuela, organised by the oligarchy with the backing of US imperialism, removed the democratically elected government and kidnapped the president Hugo Chavez. In less than 48 hours and despite the media manipulation, the Bolivarian masses had come out on the streets, defeated the coup and reinstated their president.

10 years later, as part of a series of events to celebrate the people's victory against the coup, Hands Off Venezuela is hosting the London premiere of "Cuarto Poder" (the Fourth Power) a new documentary examining the role of media, media monopoly and ownership, media manipulation and related issues with special reference to the media coverage of events in Venezuela.

The documentary, by Pablo Roldán and Míriam Díaz-Crespo is in Spanish with English subtitles. It has received a joint prize to the best documentary by a young team at the Santiago de Cuba Festival, and has also featured at the Documentasur Festival in Getafe, Spain, the 2nd International Festival of Independent Political Films in Buenos Aires and the International Human Rights Festival Document9 in Glasgow. (Spanish trailer here: http://vimeo.com/25357758)

John McDonnell MP and Alan Woods will speak on the importance of the Bolivarian revolution and there will be plenty of time for discussion.

With the support of the Central London branch of the National Union of Journalists